r^^ By E;: H/ 



LITTLE LESSONS 



LITTLE HOUSEKEEPERS 



ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY. 

770 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 



LITTLE LESSONS 



Little Housekeepers. 



A SERIES OF LESSONS 



GIVEN AT THE 



WILSON INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, 






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" A servant with this clause 
Makes drudgery divine 
Who sweeps a room, as to thy laws 
Makes that, and the action fine." 

George Herbert, 



ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPA^TY: — 

770 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. 




COPYRIGHT, 1875, BY 

Anson D. F, Randolph & Co. 




ROBERT RUTTER 

BINDER, 
J4 BEEKMAN STREET, N. Y. 



EDWARD O. JENKINS, 

PRINTER AND 8TERE0TYPER 

20 NORTH WILLIAM ST., N. Y. 



TO THE LADIES OF NEW YORK. 



To a person accustomed from childhood to 
the conveniences of a- New England kitchen, 
where the iron, tin, and wooden-ware have occu- 
pied the same places and been cleansed by the 
same methods for generations, the necessity of a 
book of this kind does not seem apparent. But 
my life, for tlie last year and a half, in the Wil- 
son Mission among the poor children of your 
tenement-houses, has awakened me to the need 
of teaching in the simplest form the names and 
uses of the most common articles in a family, and 
of laying down rules which, to the untrained and 
ignorant, cannot fail to be of service. 

Again and again I have been asked for copies 
of the same, and feeling that children of all 
grades should understand how work sliould be 
done, even if manual labor does not fall to their 



lot, I have allowed this little volume to be 
printed and circulated. 

Thus the first Industrial School of New York 
offers the first lessons, for little children, in prac- 
tical housekeeping, and thus the Wilson Mis- 
sion extends a helping hand to all fellow-work- 
ers in this great Metropolis. 

E. H. 



LITTLE LESSONS 

FOR 

LITTLE HOUSEKEEPERS. 



LESSON FIRST. 

WASHING DISHES. 

OUES. What is the first thing little children should 
learn about housekeeping ? 

Ans. To wash dishes. 

QUES. What three things are necessary in order 
to wash dishes properly ? 

Ans. Well-scraped dishes, hot suds, and 
proper towels. 

OUES. How do you collect dishes ? 

Ans. Collect the silver in a pitcher of 
hot water, throw the cold water from the 
glasses, rinse the cups, and scrape each 
plate separately, and place in a pile. 

QUES. How do you make hot suds ? 

Ans. Put a piece of soap on a fork, and 
stir it briskly in the water. 



8 Little Lessons for 

QUES. What are proper towels ? 

Ans. Clean, dry towels. We must use 
the fine towels for the glasses and silver ; 
the coarse towels for the plates and other 
dishes. 

QUES. In what order do you wash dishes ? 

Ans. First the glasses, then the silver, 
the pitchers, cups, saucers, plates, and 
other dishes. 

QUES, How should you rinse dishes } 
Ans. In clear, hot water. 



LESSON SECOND. 

CARE OF DINING-ROOM. 

QuES. When is a dining-room in perfect order ? 

Ans. When it is well swept and dusted, 
the furniture in its place, and the blinds 
closed. 

QuES. How often should a dining-room be swept } 

Ans. Once thoroughly every day, and 
the crumbs brushed up after every meal. 



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Little Housekeepers. II 

QUES. What rule should you observe about sweep \ 

Ans. To have a stronjr light, to sweep 
with short strokes, with a small broom - 
brush well in the corners and round the 
ed<:^es. and allow time for the dust to set- 
tic before (hi^tirii^. 

Whai t:> indispensable to a nice-looking 
d; ...blc? 

Ans. Clean linen, brij^ht silver and cut- 
lery, and clear glass. 

Ks. What is the first thing to do in cleaning 

Ans. First, wash in very hot suds ; sec- 
ond, rub with wet whiting or silver soap ; 
third, rub with dry Hannel and brush out 
the creases; last, polish with a chamois, 
being very careful not to finger the silver. 



LESSON r II I K I). 

WAITING. 
QUES. What is the first rule for wailing on table ? 
Ans. Never listen to what the family 
are talking about. 



12 Little Lessofis for 

QuES. What is the second rule ? 
Ans. Alwaj^s pass things on a tray, 
handling as httle as possible. 

QuES. What is the third rule ? 
Ans. Pass everything at the left hand 
side. 

Rule for company. 

Pass to ladies and company first. It is 
all-important to watch every person at 
the table, and see that there is need of 
nothing, and to step quickly but quietly. 



LESSON FOURTH. 

COOKING. 

QuES. How does a cook prepare to bake ? 

Ans. Arrange the fire so as to send the 
heat into the oven, gather on one table all 
the articles, dishes, and pans needed ; lard 
the pans. 

QUES. How do you know when an oven is hot ? 
Ans. When the oven-door hisses. 

QuES. How do you know when a loaf of cake is 
baked ? 



Little Housekeepers. 13 

Ans. When a broom - straw passes 
through the thickest part and comes out 
dry. 

QUES. What kind of flour should be used for 
cooking ? 

Ans. Sifted flour. 

OUES. What kind of water should be used in 
making tea ? 

Ans. Boiling water, with which scald 
the tea- pot. 

QUES. How do you know when a kettle boils ? 
Ans. When the steam pours from the 
spout. 

QUES. What is the first thing a cook should do 
after sending a meal to the table } 

Ans. Put coal on the fire, close the 
dampers, brush up the hearth, and wash 
all the dishes she used to get the meal. 



LESSON FIFTH. 

washing and ironing. 

OUES. In what order should you wash clothes ? 
Ans. First the table linen, then the fine 



14 Little Lessons for 

clothes, the bed linen, the coarse clothes, 
and towels. 

QUES. How should you wash flannels ? 
Ans. Wash in warm suds, and rinse in 
clear, hot water. 

QUES. What is the secret of nice ironing ? 
Ans. a clean, hot flat-iron; a clean 
ironing-cloth ; and well-folded clothes. 

OUES. When are clothes well folded ? 

Ans. When they are well-shaken, sprin- 
kled, folded smooth, and rolled hard and 
tight. 

QuES. How do you know when a flat-iron is hot } 
Ans. When it hisses. 



LESSON SIXTH. 

CHAMBER-WORK. 

QUES. How do you commence the chamber-work ? 

Ans. By opening the windows, laying 
off the bed-clothes, beating up the pillows, 
and leaving them to air for a short time. 



1 




05 


O 



Little Ho2isekccpers. 17 

QUES. What things are necessary in order to do 
chamber-work ? 

Axs. A pail for the waste -water; a 
pail of hot suds ; a cloth for the bowl, and 
another cloth for the other crockery. 

QUES. What is the general rule for washing ? 
Ans. Alwaj^s wash the cleanest first. 
QUES. When is a bed well made ? 
Ans. When it is level, square, and 
smooth. 

QUES. How do you make a bed level ? 
Ans. By turning- it often from side to 
side, or from end to end. 

QUES. How do you make a bed square ? 
Ans. By folding the clothes carefully 
at the corners and sides. 

QUES. How do you make a bed smooth } 
Ans. By drawing all the clothes, espe- 
cially the spread, ver}' tightl}^ 



LESSON SEVENTH. 

KITCHEN UTENSILS. 

QuES. Name the articles of iron-ware used in a 
kitchen. 

Ans. Tea-kettle, iron-pot, sauce-pan,. 



1 8 Little Lessons for 

frying-pan, stew-pan, griddle, gridiron, 
dripping-pan, and porcelain - lined pre- 
serve kettle. 

OuES. Name the articles of tin-ware used in a 
kitchen. 

Ans. Wash-boiler, dish-pan, sauce-pan, 
colander, tin pails, tin-dipper, skimmer, 
hand-basin, and muffin-tins. 

QuES. Name the articles of wooden-ware. 

Ans. Rolling - pin, moulding - board, 
chopping-tray, meat-board, can-pails, po- 
tato - masher, lemon - squeezer, pudding- 
spoons, wash-board, and flour-sieves. 

QuES. What kind of brushes are used in house- 
keeping 1 

Ans. Broom, wisp, scrub-brush, stove- 
brush, dust-brush, blacking-brush, crumb- 
brush, and feather-duster. 

QuES. What kind of knives are necessary in the 
kitchen .'* 

Ans. Bread-knife, chopping-knife, carv- 
ing-knife, and jack-knife. 



Little Housekeepers. 21 

QuES. For what is a jack-knife used ? 
Ans. To pare potatoes, etc. 



LESSON EIGHTH. 

CHART QUESTIONS. 

QUES. Point out on the chart a g-ridiron. 
QUES. What is its use ? 
Ans. For broiling. 

QuES. What kinds of meat are generally broiled } 
Ans. Steaks, chops, and poultry. 

QUES. What kind of fire is needed for broiling ? 
Ans. a clear fire, free from smoke. 

QUES. How can you make a clear fire ? 
Ans. Sprinkle a little salt upon it. 

QUES. How should a gridiron be prepared } 
Ans. It should be hot and larded. 

QUES. What is a colander used for .'' 
Ans. For straining and draining. 

QUES. For what is a dripping-pan used ? 
Ans. Roasting meat. 



DIALOGUE. 



GOING OUT TO WORK. 

Amelia. So you are going out to work 
to-morrow ? I should like to know what 
3^ou know about housekeeping? 

Mena. Know? Why, haven't I been 
to the Wilson School, and learned how 
to wash dishes, clothes, and to bake ! 

Annie. Pooh! I don'tbelieve3^ouknow 
even when an oven is hot. 

Amelia. Oh ! I know that, but I don't 
believe Minnie knows how to set a table 
properly. 

J^Iena. 1 am not so dull as you think 
I am. ■ I stayed with Miss H. till she 
showed me just how, and now I lay all 
the knives at the right hand side, with 
the sharp edges towards the plate, so as 
to make everything look square and true. 

Annie. Well, if j^ou know how to set 
a table, do 3^ou know how to " unset it? '' 

Mena. Indeed I do. First put away 
all the articles that belong in the closet 
(22) 



Dialogue. 23 

and side - board, the castor and such 
things, then collect the dishes just as it 
says in the lesson. 

Amelia. Do you know how to wait 
on a dinner-table ? 

Mena. Not very well ; but I know 
enough to pass the things to the left 
hand side, and just how full to fill the 
glasses, and if 1 hear quick and watch 
carefully, I think I will get along. 

Annie. Well, if you are going to live 
" by a lady,'' you will need to have your 
hair braided nicely every morning before 
you come down, and a clean collar and 
apron on every day, for nobody likes a 
servant who is not neat and tidy herself. 



DIALOGUE. 



HOME WORK AND SHOP WORK. 

Rosa. What are you going- to do, girls, 
when you leave school ? I begin to think 
about it, for mother comes home more 
and more tired every night ; and I am 
getting large enough to earn something 
for myself, and her too. 

Lena. I have got to work for my moth- 
er, too, for she has the rheumatism nearly 
all the time now ; and the rent will run 
behind, and everything go wrong if some- 
body does not earn money. 

Jennie. I mean to go into a store, it 
will be such fun. 

Rosa. Why, Jennie, a store is forlorn ! 
Think how often you would have to come 
home after dark, alone. True, the wages 
sound large ; but after you have paid your 
board, it is not as much as a good cook 
or waitress gets. 

Lena. Maid in a good Christian family 
is what I would rather be than anything. 
(24) 



Dialogue, 25 

If you do your best, you will always be 
respected, and have a home and some 
one to take an interest in you. 

Rosa. That's one reason I like to go 
to the Wilson School ; for you learn there 
the very things you need to know, to 
woik in a family. 

Jennie. Why, what do they teach you 
there ? 

RoSx\. To do all kinds of housework. 
If you want to be a dress-maker or seam- 
stress, they teach you that too. 

Jennie. Wh}^, I thought it was only a 
grammar-school, where you learned read- 
ing, writing, and arithmetic ? 

Rosa. Oh ! we learn that, of course ; 
for how could we get along with cook- 
ing, if you could not read recipes and 
copy them ; and one could not do errands 
and make change very well without arith- 
metic. 

Jennie. Why, how do the teachers man- 
age ; — you cannot be in school and in the 
kitchen too? 

Rosa. Oh! we take turns in the kitchen, 
and try not to lose our class-lessons more 
than we can help. 



26 Dialogue. 

Jennie. Well, you ought to be good 
for something if so much is done to teach 
you. 

Rosa. Why, yes ; I am very grateful 
that I know how to earn an honest liv- 
ing, while so many are ignorant and unfit 
for anything. 



APPENDIX 



The following pages give the systematized 
forms of the daily duties at the WiLSON Indus- 
trial School, which I have added as a slight 
hint for persons desiring to establish similar in- 
stitutions. 



DUTIES OF PARLOR-GIRL. 

FOR MONDAY, TUESDAY, AND WEDNESDAY. 

Take the dust-pan and wisp-broom to 
the parlor. 

Draw up the shades, open the blinds. 

Brush all the specks from the carpets. 

Take the duster from the lower drawer 
of the desk. 

Dust every article thoroughly, fre- 
quently shaking the duster out of the 
window. 

THURSDAY. 

Move all the articles into the hall, to 
prepare the parlor for sweeping. 

Wrap up sixteen loaves of bread, in 
the children's dining-room.* 

After the parlor is swept, dust as usual. 

FRIDAY. 

Fold and put away the scrub cloths. 



* The bread pays the kitchen girls for their week's 
work, and washing floors on Thursday, when 12 extra 
girls are employed. 

(29) 



30 Duties of Parlor -Girl. 

Dust as usual. Put cloth on the parlor 
table. Dust the matron's room. 

IN WASHING FLOORS. 

Always put on a kitchen apron. Fill 
the pail half-full. Change the water three 
times. 

Wash the scrub cloths, and hang them 
on the line. 

DOOR-TENDER. 

Dress in kitchen-apron and door-tend- 
er's badge. 

Take a broom from the closet and sweep 
the first floor. 

Sweep the upper halls. 

Scour the knives. 

Count out the pans and cups. 

Help the kitchen girls set the table. 

Wait on the teacher's lunch-table. 

Brush up the crumbs in the children's 
dining-room. 

Put away the pans, sweep the halls. 



WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF 
KITCHEN-GIRL? 

MONDAY. 

Come to school at eight o'clock. Put 
on a long bedtick-apron, and report your- 
self to the matron. 

Clear the table in the teacher's dining- 
room. Sweep the dining-room. 

Wash and wipe the dishes. Dust the 
dining-room ; then put the dishes in the 
closet.* 

Peel a pail-and a-half of potatoes. 

Set the tables in the children's dining- 
room. 

Get tub and towels ready.f 

At dinner, wait on children's tables. 

Scrape the pans. 

Wash, wipe, and put away the teach 
er's lunch-dishes. 



* To allow the dust to settle while the dishes are 
washing. 

\ The children wash their faces as they pass from 
the table. 

(31) 



32 Duties of Kitchen-Girl. 

Wipe the children's pans (the cook 
must wash them). Scrub the tables. 
Bring up the kindlings. 
Bid the matron good-night. 

TUESDAY. 

Prepare the vegetables for soup, and 
cut up the meat. 
Wash the soup-pot. 
Other duties, same as on Monday. 

WEDNESDAY. 

Brush and wash out the bread-closet. 
Peel two pails of potatoes. 

THURSDAY. 

The same duties as on Monday, omit- 
ting the peeling of potatoes and scrub- 
bing tables, and adding the washing of 
the kitchen floor. 

FRIDAY. 

The duties of Monday, omitting the 
peeling of potatoes. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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